HBA-TBM C.S.H.B. 957 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 957
By: Burnam
County Affairs
2/19/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, the fee a county or public health district may charge
for restaurant health inspections is limited to $150 or the highest fee
charged by a municipality in the county, whichever amount is less.  This
fee often does not cover the cost of inspections, based on the time and
personnel required to conduct them. C.S.H.B. 957 authorizes a county or
heath district to adopt a variable scale with a maximum limit of $300 to
determine the appropriate fee. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 957 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize a county or
public health district to adopt, by rule or order, a variable scale to
determine the fee charged for issuing or renewing a permit for a food
service establishment, retail food store, mobile food unit, or roadside
vendor (establishment).  The county or health district is authorized to
consider an establishment's size, gross sales, and the number of employees
when adopting a variable scale.  The bill prohibits the fee charged as a
result of a variable scale from being more than $300. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The substitute differs from the original bill by keeping the existing
maximum fee charged at $150 unless the county or health district adopts, by
rule or order, a variable scale for determining the amount of the fee, in
which case the maximum fee is $300.